1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a caliper brake assembly having means to self-center the brake shoes and to essentially equalize wear on each of the shoes.
2. Prior Art
There are many different types of caliper brake assemblies in which hinged arms carrying brake shoes are actuated by an extensible and retractable actuator fitted adjacent ends of the arms remote from the brake shoes. It is not unusual for caliper brakes of this type to suffer from uneven wear of the brake shoes due to differences in force between the brake shoes and the disc, or unequal travel of the brake shoes resulting in one shoe contacting the disc before the opposite shoe. Both of the above characteristics of prior art brake shoes can result in uneven wear of the brake shoes with corresponding premature replacement of the linings, usually because when the lining of one shoe has become hazardously thin, it is common practice to replace both linings when the brakes are serviced.
Various structures have been devised to reduce difficulties associated with the uneven wearing of brakes, for example an invention as described and claimed in the present inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,153 issued in 1977. This patent discloses a link hinged between a caliper arm on one side of the disc and a portion of a brake shoe on an opposite side of the disc. Two references cited against the above U.S. patent include U.S. Pat. No. 2,527,072 issued to Pogue and Australian Pat. No. 219,107. In these cited references, opposite shoes of the caliper brake assembly are interconnected by links which slidably engage the shoes.